Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Guest Post: Dani Harper - How Chickens Keep Me Sane + giveaway

While I can usually write anywhere, I wrote Storm Crossed – the latest installment of the Grim Series – largely at the kitchen table by the window. For some reason, it became my favorite place to work, my go-to place for inspiration, and the location of my greatest word output. Was it the lighting? The room to spread out my notes? The limitless availability of coffee? Or was it the calming pastoral scene of a large flock of chickens foraging freely in the yard?

Maybe some of those things. Maybe all of them. But what about those voices I kept hearing underneath my window? I’ve been wondering about that ever since….………………………………

RECON TEAM 7 – TEAM LEADER EARL REPORTING

DAY 63 – Betty and Mildred are posting lookout while our spotter, Mrs. Beardsley, and her team carefully move into position. Today’s mission is to get a look inside the north window of the house and gather further intel.

OBJECTIVE: Determine why the Domesticated Treat-Bringer (DTB) isn’t spending as much time outside with the flock.

WHAT WE HAVE LEARNED SO FAR: Thanks to a successful covert operation by Priscilla (who pretended to be sick in order to get taken into the house), we now know that the window belongs to a treat prep area known as “The Kitchen”. DTB sits beside said window daily, accompanied by a glowing device known as “The Laptop”, alternately known as “This Damned Computer”. DTB spends a lot of time pressing buttons on it and talking to it, sometimes even yelling at it. I suspect it may be alive, and has usurped the flock’s rightful place as DTB’s reason for existence, and thus disrupted the natural order of things...

The hens have now positioned themselves on the back steps beneath the window, cleverly appearing to sun themselves. It took most of the night to calculate the correct number of chickens required to lift the spotter so her eyes would be just above the sill. We don’t want to reveal ourselves to DTB, or accidentally gain the attention of the neighbors across the alley.

There she is! From my perch on the grain bin at the back of the yard, I can see DTB enter the kitchen. I wave to Betty, who bobs her pompommed head up and down to signal Mrs. Beardsley. The team springs into action – wait, wait, something’s not right here. The idea was to put the largest hen, Snowball, on the bottom, but they’ve put skinny little Wilma there. There’s no way this is going to – it’s too late, they’re going for it. Climb, Mrs. Beardsley, CLIMB!

The column of chickens sways like a delphinium in a windstorm, but their brave leader has clawed her way to the shaky top. She’s peering into the window. She’s waving to us. She’s –

Call the medic, Mildred. We’ll try again tomorrow.

DAY 97 – It’s taken a valiant effort, and the sacrifice of many feathers and more than a few eggs, but we finally have our answer. Our DTB is a WRITER. This comes as a shock to many of us, I know, but we must maintain our dignity and accept the difficult fact that DTB’s current novel is always going to take first priority. (Harriet, stop crying. If it makes you feel any better, DTB’s mate is in much the same situation...)

However, there IS an upside to all of this. It’s very apparent that DTB has taken on this heavy responsibility for the sole purpose of providing a better life for us. You’ve all been enjoying the new heated watering bowls, I assume? The 20-pound bag of premium dried mealworms? The fluffy nestbox cushions?

In order to continue to enjoy such bounty, our duty is clear. We must do everything in our power to take good care of our writer!

Priscilla has come up with a schedule to ensure that there are always happy, playful hens cavorting in front of the kitchen window during the writer’s working hours. Mrs. Beardsley, you and your team are up first. Yes, yes, take Wilma, just prop her up against something so she looks natural. Stanley, you’re going to do your famous rock star strut as a backdrop. Meanwhile, Salty, Pepper, and Cheeks – we want your very best eggs.

Speaking of eggs, the principle is the same. The most contented and relaxed hens produce the most eggs. In like fashion, our DTB must be the happiest, most relaxed, and therefore most productive writer there is.

So, maybe it happened, or maybe I fell asleep at the laptop (yes, there’s precedent for that…). The one thing I know for sure is that my chickens are good for my mental health. They provide me with a lot of entertainment and a reason to leave the laptop and go outside for a few minutes. And sometimes, as in my previous novel, Storm Warned, a chicken or two wanders into the story!

Heir to a noble fae house, Trahern is forced to watch helplessly as his twin brother is cruelly changed into a grim—a death dog—as punishment for falling in love with the wrong person. Trahern doesn’t believe love exists, but he will do anything to keep his brother alive—even join the Wild Hunt and ride the night skies of the human world.

Lissy Santiago-Callahan believes in love but has no time for it. She’s busy juggling her career as an academic and her home life as a single mom to a young son with Asperger’s. Her hectic life in sleepy Eastern Washington is made even more chaotic with the sudden arrival of a demanding fae and his unusual “dog.”

Mortal and immortal have nothing in common, and the attraction between Lissy and Trahern surprises them both. But when their desire places Lissy and her child in the path of a deadly faery feud, will the connection last, or will their separate worlds prove too great a divide?

The fae are cunning, powerful and often cruel. The most beautiful among them are often the most deadly. Hidden far beneath the mortal world, the timeless faery realm plays by its own rules—and those rules can change on a whim. Now and again, the unpredictable residents of that mystical land cross the supernatural threshold…

In this enchanting romance series from Dani Harper, the ancient fae come face-to-face with modern-day humans and discover something far more potent than their strongest magic: love.

That's so funny. The owner of the studio (aka barn) where we have a drawing group has chickens who occasionally serenade us with an egg drop. No roosters allowed in their city though. Liked the book a lot.

I like my favorite scents around me. Candles, oils, plug-in scents, etc. anything that smells like the beach, amber, or some fruity smells. My scents that are in now at home are vanilla hazelnut in the main area of the house and amber in the bedroom area.

Everyone knows my passion for coffee, but I also have a huge fondness for porches --- my gramma had a huge wraparound porch on her Victorian house, and it was a favorite place to hide out from the summer heat.

If I could keep chickens in my apartment, I think they would be fun, but alas, no pets in this building. So, I turn to my old standby...books and computer solitaire. I can spend hours playing about 5 different Solitaire games off and on throughout the day and night. I get up at night for a pit stop and usually end up staying up for about half an hour or so and I play...what else? Solitaire! I'm a Solitaire junkie!

I've raised chicks in the house, and it's fun except that chickens give off an incredible amount of DUST -- and I can't breathe. So no more indoor chickens for me. As for Solitaire, I've read that it's very good for your brain!

I sit outside in my backyard with my dog ... sunset is my favorite time ... I just love to sit there and say hello to my parents (who I believe are stars now) and clear my mind from the day’s stress ☘️

I love having all my "precious babies". If it has fins, fur, or feathers I've had it at one time. All I have right now is a cat, 2 dogs, and an adorable ferret. I think a house isn't a home unless you have a least some type of animal in it even if it's only a pet goldfish. Reading, pets, plants, and crafts are my passion when I can afford them that is.

I've never been without a pet of some kind. My elderly mom lives alone and I've been trying to talk her into getting a little dog --- I think pets bring very positive energy into a home, and it's good for us to interact with them.

CONGRATS to HEATHER SNYDER! Her name was drawn as the winner of this giveaway, and she'll be receiving an MP3-CD of Storm Crossed, plus a Storm Crossed/I Smell Sheep tote bag! MANY THANKS to everyone who stopped by to read about my crazy chickens, and I really enjoyed your comments. :)